A Farnam firefighter was hospitalized and a department 2021 Chevrolet pickup totaled Thursday while crews were fighting a Gosper County wildfire in a pasture 11 miles southwest of Elwood, reports ruralradio.com.

Department officials describe the incident as such: the smoke became thick as the grass rig a crew member was driving entered an incline. The back wheels then dropped in a hole and the truck slowly rolled over.

One crew member was on the back of the rig as it began to give way, and he jumped off. The report says he broke his leg and suffered a hand injury, he had surgery for the former at a nearby hospital.

There was one passenger in the truck, who was not seriously hurt, nor was the driver, according to the report.

Strong winds and a dryness didn’t help the department’s cause against the stubborn fire, officials note.

After 50 years in service, the Carbon County KME plant just recently closed its doors, reports brctv13.com.

The final fire truck—an aerial—produced at the facility will remain in the area, though: The Lehighton Fire Department is set to soon take delivery of the fire truck and put it in service.

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Truck 523—four years in the making, including two in production alone—will replace the department’s 1989 ladder truck, according to the report.

It wasn’t planned that the aerial would stay in the area, “it’s just [coincidental] that it happened to be a department so close,” a KME official says.

The Nebraska State Patrol is investigating a fatal crash that occurred on Highway 283 Thursday afternoon, during response to the large fire southeast of Elwood. Both vehicles involved were assisting in the fire response.

The crash occurred at approximately 5:10 p.m., when a Ford Expedition, driven by Phelps County Emergency Manager Justin Norris, with passenger Darren Krull, Chief of the Elwood Volunteer Fire Department, was struck head on by a truck hauling water, approximately eight miles north of Arapahoe on Highway 283.

Chief Krull, 54, of Elwood, passed away at the scene. Norris, 40, of Holdrege, was transported to the hospital in Cambridge with life-threatening injuries. He was then transferred to Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney in stable condition. He has since been transferred to a hospital in Omaha. He remains in stable condition as of this morning.

The driver of the water truck, Andries Van Aswegan, 28, of Arapahoe, was not injured in the crash. The fire and smoke in the area had created zero-visibility conditions on the roadway at the time of the crash.

“Our hearts are with all involved in this tragic crash, as well as those affected by the fire,” said Colonel John Bolduc, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “Please keep the firefighters, farmers, emergency managers, law enforcement officers, volunteers, and all others involved in this fire response in your thoughts today.”

The crash remains under investigation.

Please avoid West Snake Road that is located NW of Sutherland.

Firefighters are battling a wild fire.

🚒🚨🚒🚨🚒🚨🚒🚨🚒🚨🚒 pic.twitter.com/rmGcykellW

— NSP Troop D (@NSP_TroopD) April 9, 2022

San Bernardino County Fire recently placed in service a new fire truck, which can “attack fires, mobile pump, or shuttle water. The multi-use package will allow the tender to function on a multitude of fires.”

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“Recently a new International / KME Water Tender (WT) was placed in service at Fire Station 304 in the City of Hesperia,” the department writes on Facebook. “The new Water Tender carries 1,800 gallons of water and can pump 500 gallons per minute (GPM). The four-wheel drive WT can pump while rolling and has a turret on the front bumper, capable of flowing 30-125 GPM. The turret is controlled by a joystick in the cab allowing crews to stay inside the cab while directing the flow of water, nozzle pattern and direction. Some other notable features are a hydraulically controlled porta-tank rack, extra cab, rear axle locker and full LED light package. The equipment compliment allows the WT to initial attack fires, mobile pump, or shuttle water. The multi-use package will allow the tender to function on a multitude of fires.”